Point Blank
by SnapTobiume10
Summary: It wasn't that I blamed people for being afraid, it was simply... I blamed them for forcing us to be trapped within this glorified cage. "It is all that we could salvage, madam." The woman pulled on the edges of the wrapping. The others could not see what it was, but from so far above, I could. It was a hand. A human hand. SNK/OUaT WonderQueen. M for blood, gore, language, sex.
1. Ignorance is Bliss

_**Ignorance is Bliss**_

_**Leading to the Fight (1)**_

* * *

Wall Ares stared down at me as I found myself hidden in the shadow of the same chimney as many other times. Every time I heard the tolling of a heavy brass bell, signaling the return of the survey corps, I was reminded how we, as humans, had been destined to live within a glorified cage of mortar walls. We lived here, in what was thought to be the last stronghold of humanity, protected from the world outside by such walls. Or rather, the walls were there to protect us from beings known only as Titan's, giant, brainless humanoid creatures that survived for the singular purpose of eradicating what was left of humankind by eating them. It was a terrifying prospect, and it wasn't that I blamed people for being afraid, it was simply... I blamed them for forcing us to be trapped within this glorified cage. As the bell tolled once again, I was drawn back to the present, to the gates of wall Ares swinging wide to allow one of the three guardian classes of humanity made their way back in. The first, in the innermost circle of the walls, was the Military Police, charged with protecting the noble classes of our stronghold. The second tier of the military was the garrison troops, charged with protecting the three walls, and the cities within all three. And third, there was the unit that was charged with traveling outside of our walls. For seeing this glorious world, outside of our fabricated cage. The Survey Corps.

I strained to see the green- robed soldiers as they entered the first of three walls. They were each clad in the same robes as one another, with black and white wings embroidered upon the backs of short, forest- green cloaks covering roughly half of their backs. I felt a small sense of pride in these soldiers, even as many of them limped, barely able to stay upright as they made their way towards the inner walls. I could name many of them, whispering, barely breathing the names to myself as they neared. Despite the hate many of the villagers felt towards these people, I respected them immensely. I envied the idea that they had seen so much more of the world than I had. The commander, a tall man with blonde hair, was cut off by an elderly woman.

"Where is my son?" She pleaded with him. "I can't find my son. Please. Andrew. Andrew Stark." The commander turned towards his subordinate, a girl whom had graduated only this year, and nodded.

"Give it to her." He whispered, and the red head nodded once, lowering a small parcel to the woman. "It is all that we could salvage, madam." The woman pulled on the edges of the wrapping. The others could not see what it was, but from so far above, I could.

It was a hand. A human hand.

The woman fell, weeping. Unable to do more than that. I grasped onto the chimney for a stronger support, hard rock cutting into my hands even then. I had always known I would join the army, my mother repeatedly telling me that the Military Police was the greatest honor. A part of me had always believed her words. And yet, I wanted to go beyond these walls, outside of this cage.

"Alice." The commander's voice again, almost right below me.

"Yes, Commander."

"What did we learn from the Titans this time, to make all of these deaths worth while?" He seemed tired, I watched them, watched the wings on their backs as they continued to draw away at an agonizing, slow pace. She turned and looked at me, then. The woman, young, with fire red hair. Alice.

"Nothing, Commander." I will always remember this moment. It was the very moment when, though she was speaking to him, her words had been there for me. Because, some how, she knew. She knew that my heroes had always been the survey corps. And my innocent, heroic representation of them? It was required to be crushed. To be completely destroyed, and replaced by a bitter truth.

The survey corps learned nothing from the titans, they simply offered themselves up as food. It was the only bit of her lesson that I understood at the time, despite there being so many more layers to her, so many underlying truths about freedom, about who we were. I wasn't prepared for such lessons, and so... I missed them.

She turned away from me then, but I still watched her, until she was long gone. It would have been easier if I had seen.


	2. Harsh Realization

_**Harsh Realization**_

_**Leading to the Fight (2)**_

* * *

I will never forget my birthday. Never, not even after death claims me. My father was ecstatic over the news that I would join the military. My mother was pressing my decision towards the Military Police. Just as I was getting continuously more frustrated with her, was when the ground shook. There was a rattling, right down to the inside of the earth's core. I shot outside, my father resting one hand on my shoulder as we all but exploded out of the door. I looked up, towards the gate. It was where everyone was looking, and that... That was the only reason I looked.

That was when I saw it.

It was taller than the walls, by more than a head. And it's face looked as though it was made of solid muscle. Except for an area around its eyes, and then the line of its cheek, and its teeth. Those were all solid, perfectly- colored bone. I was sixteen, and I grasped onto my father's hand as though it was for my life. Or rather, perhaps it was for his. I'm not certain. The ground shattered again, rocking with a sick tilt as the gates on wall Ares exploded inwards.

"Titans." My father whispered, his grip tightening on my shoulder. "Run, Regina. Get out of here. Get into Wall Hephaestus."

"Father-"

"Go!" I had never heard him shout at me before. That was usually my mother's job. I could see him as he drew out my mother, chasing after me as quickly as we could all run. I stopped short at an intersection, a massive, human- like giant making its way towards me slowly, the most ridiculous, stupid grin painted across its face It was sick, in all honesty. "Come on, Regina!" My father shouted again. I shot down the side, the sound of massive footsteps echoing around my head as though it was all that there was out here, in the district that we lived.

"Father, Mother!" There was a scream, much more similar to a pained growl. I had heard it only a few times before, when a wild horse had stomped my father's foot to bits. I whirled. "Father!" He was being lifted into the air, the jaws of a titan widening with disgusting teeth, broken jaws. "No!" My voice was unrecognizable, barely more than a screech. "Father!" I reached out towards him, even though every move I made was in vain. Another was approaching behind me, I could feel it. Teeth closed with a final snap, and my father was gone in a spray of blood, and a hand that fell to the ground. I knew what that woman had felt, not even six months prior. I understood. I was surrounded in a circle of silence. Deafening, heartbroken silence.

Her blades tore through the back of the titan's neck, and he fell a dead weight to the ground. Her cloak was flying around her shoulders in a swirl with that same bright- red, unnatural hair as she took only two steps on the nearest rooftop before the whirring of mechanized, third- dimensional gear snapped its filed hook into the stone of a nearby building. Maybe another titan fell. Perhaps it was five. Ten. Twenty. I didn't know. An arm closed around mine, dragging me upwards. The sky was a place that offered nothing but freedom as you breached the most unnatural boundary to humans. I did not enjoy my first flight. I found myself clinging to her, to a person who's name I barely even remembered. Somehow, in the air, we had figured out a way where I could be tangled around her so completely that, if anyone should have looked, they would have only seen one being, rather than two. The clicking and whirring of mechanical gear made a sort of music to me, a comfort more primal than a beast's birth mother. I don't remember how long we flew for, but I do remember the landing.

She threw me into the hard ground, sheathing a blade I hadn't known she was holding as she approached. I had failed to brace myself on the stone ground, and my face bore the marks of that failure, blood already seeping down into one eye. She didn't say anything at first, and her silence was echoed by my own. I was broken. I didn't want to be seen, and yet, here she was, staring at me with this gaze that was so icy, I swore it could have frozen a titan in its tracks. She paused a few moments, still staring, before a hand trailed its way along her cloak, undoing the latch with a practiced ease. She dropped it on me, not like a blanket, nor even resembling any motion of comfort. It was more as tough she was... Throwing out the trash, and I happened to be where it landed. She withdrew the guards that controlled the third- dimensional gear, snapping blades into place within them.

"What are you going to do." Her blades slid, and her maneuver gear lifted her far way from me, and fast. I hadn't had the time to answer her question, and yet, I knew it wasn't a question at all, really. It was just words, floating around in space. Meaningless words, until someone gave them a definition. I pulled on the edge of her green shawl, a pain shooting up my arm as I moved.

"Join the army." I told her, despite how far I'm sure she had moved by now. I dabbed the blood away from my face, using the inside of the shawl, before wrapping it around my still- bleeding arm. Perhaps another good place to begin would be to brace myself, next time I fell. I would make sure to remember that. It was bound to be important later in life. I looked around, realizing far too late that she had dropped me within wall Hephaestus, within the chaos that was a massive evacuation of wall Ares. When I blinked, I could see the titan as it devoured my father, over and over again, multiple times a minute. I understood why my mother had wanted me to join the Military Police.

It was the same reason as, days later, I made my first salute to the commander of the training corps. The man was loud, bald, with fierce eyes. He asked every student who they were, why they were here. There were those he would hit if they were too sassy with their comments. He stopped at me, with my rigid salute. He nodded once, just barely, and continued onward through the line. Now I understand that this ritual had been considered a right of passage, for those in the army that were unsure of who they were, or why they were here, or both. I knew who I was. Regina Mills, from the village south of Wall Ares, now fallen to the Titans. And I knew why I was here, and where I would be going in the future.

Late that night, when the others were asleep, I withdrew the fabric, wrapping the dark green fabric around one arm, holding it close. It still smelled a bit like her. I knew where I was going.

Military training was hard. Right from that very first day. We were taught the basics, agility increased. We were expected to run every day, to keep up in a team of five. I could care less who was in my team in particular. We were separated more often than I cared to count. The first day of third- dimensional gear training was particularly interesting. We were each given a belt for ourselves, and then attached two two hooks on a stable machine. I watched the others scramble, trying vainly to keep themselves upright. The feeling of the hooks against me, pulling upwards, felt just like an arm. I shifted slightly, balancing. No one else existed. It was the sky, and my body. Nothing was as difficult as my first lesson. Nothing would even come remotely close. I knew that now.

And then she was staring at me. Her gaze was still exactly as cold as it had been nearly two months ago. That was how long we had been training already. I could remember how many carts left, bringing trainees that weren't fit for duty back out to the walls. I set my jaw, staring back at her with what I hoped was an expression mirroring her own. She stayed completely still a moment, before the corner of her mouth turned up, just the slightest bit, and she blinked. Every motion of hers was slow, deliberate.

"I expect them all to be dealing with blades by the time I appear again, captain." She looked back, and smiled slightly once more, before she moved on to the next group of trainees.

My first set of blades came something like two weeks later, and it was with those that I knew I had achieved what had seemed to be so impossibly far away. I was a soldier. I would make it to the survey corps. I would fight beside her. I would succeed. I was fast, if not the strongest in the teams. I would get there. The survey corps. I had to.


	3. Rinse, Repeat

**_Rinse, Repeat_**

**_The Fall of Hephaestus (1)_**

* * *

Graduation day was as memorable as my birthday had been, two years before. Standing with three- hundred others, I stood knowing exactly which of the three paths I would step onto. As I drew third in the entire class, I found myself hustled into a group of the other nine top graduates.

Tenth, Belle French. A brilliant woman, in her own right. Though nowhere near the strongest on the battlefield, she could formulate a plan to pull our team through in the shortest amount of time. It had proved more than useful, countless times.

Eighth, Grant Wolfe. He was a resourceful fighter, good with footwork and speed. The maneuver gear seemed to be made for someone like him. He was easy on the eyes, and good in the team, though he lacked leadership. He followed us around more often then not.

Fifth, August Booth. He aspired to be in the garrison troops. He was outwardly noble, unselfish. A well- rounded fighter, and smarter than average as well. He was especially influential in a group. It would prove to be a useful talent in the case of an emergency.

One place above me, second in class, was Ruby Lucas. Out of the entirety of the trainees, it was her that I found I had the closest bond to. She was strong, immensely so. And far quicker than she should have been. There was absolutely no way that a Titan would get away from her. She smiled as she noticed me in the group, despite how badly I did not want to be there.

"So, where is everyone planning to go? Military police?" I nearly growled at the voice. First in class, Emma Swan. The child of the two leading officers in the Military Police. She aspired for one thing, to be exactly like her parents. I had learned many things in my time here. That only the top ten percent of the graduating class could join the military police. I placed down my glass of cider, staring at it. The group had grown silent at the bang of glass against wood.

"Survey corps." I could feel the intake of breath around me as they stared.

"Regina, why would you risk your neck for something as stupid as heroic valor?" I blinked, with that same intense grace that I had seen on _her _face.

"Shut up." My father being torn in half forced its way to the front of my mind. An image I had failed to see for two years. "Until you know what it's like to face a Titan." I could feel all of them watching me. Watching as, internally, I relived that very day of my life two years ago. "The best of us, the most equipped to fight, are sent off to protect the imperial asses, inside Wall Athena. While the rest of us, are left out there." I felt the glass crack in my hand, shattering. "Are fed to the Titans. Little more than livestock, fodder for a giant beast we know absolutely nothing about. None of you know what it was like out there, on wall Ares when the Titans broke through. You will never understand, until you stand there, and you watch as your family is lifted, devoured, as though they weigh the same as a chicken." I stared at the blood on my hand for the briefest moment, before all of them. "That is why I will join the survey corps. Because I'm good enough to make a difference. And because the Titans will pay for everything they have taken from us, for making us no less than livestock." I blinked a few times, as though pushing the very words I had spoken away, and when I looked around again, I could see a different fire in their eyes, each of them. Ruby was holding tight to Belle, though it wasn't like her to be afraid, and that wasn't it. They both seemed... Enflamed.

"Squad 108 R on the wall!" I straightened, as did the two women. We bowed our heads to the others, heading quickly out the door. Ruby reached for my hand, and though I didn't look towards her, she had been given permission to speak.

"You changed the minds of many, you know." I didn't care, if I was honest. People had to make their own decisions. I could hear Emma running up behind us, with her squad of Neal Cassidy and grant Wolfe, along with August Booth. The Seven of us would be minding the south edge of the wall. I leaned over the edge of it for a few moments, looking out over the edge of a ruined district where Wall Ares had once protected. Where people had lived. Where I had lived.

"So, where is everyone going to join... Now?" Emma questioned, a certain note of uncertainty in her voice, as though she was conflicted. Ruby saluted, her fist connecting strongly to the front of her uniform.

"Survey Corps! The Military Police has so many now, what difference could I make there, that I couldn't on the front line?" She let out an insane smile, typical for her. "My family was from the village south of Ares. My granny would be proud!"

"Survey Corps may not be the best place for me, for I'm weak. But any difference, any information we can gather on the titans would be helpful for humanity." Belle spoke up, her salute mirroring Ruby's. Emma grinned, like a stupid fool I'm convinced she is.

"Then its settled! Survey Corps for all of us! Let us bring humanity's wrath upon the titans!" August rolled his eyes, the only one of Seven not forming a salute for the survey corps. It hadn't mattered though, for the ground pitched, and I knew the feeling in the air the moment before he appeared. The Titan, with a face made of muscle. I turned, my blades snapping into place at the same moment that I had begun to breath again.

"It's been two years, you fucker." Emma may have been the leader of our team, according to the training commander, but this was my battlefield. I knew that, with more conviction than anything I had ever known before. "I will kill you, this time." The wall cracked, flying backwards as he smacked where we were standing, throwing the Seven of us off the wall. There was a pause, before maneuver gear attached, anchoring us. My grip tightened on the blades, and I could feel the confusion back behind us. "Fight! Fight the Colossal Titan! We bring him down today, for the sake of Wall Hephaestus!" I didn't recognize my voice, but I didn't need to. "I'll get you, you bastard!" My maneuver gear hissed, singing as I flew. This was not my first flight, it wasn't even anywhere near such a thing. I was practiced now, I would be as good as her. As the red- haired woman who had given me my second chance at life. I would achieve greatness. The second hook shot out, reaching onto the muscle hand that had reached for me. I spun, twirling around the last finger by less than a hair, dragging the edge of my blade through the arm. "I _will _kill you!" The first hook again, redirecting m motion, knees bent inward toward the neck. The singular weak point. His death. I swung downward, screaming my rage. I would connect the hit. He would die, and it would be at my blades!

And then I was falling. There was no longer a Titan bracing my fall. There was nothing there, but an empty space, and a massive footprint on the ground.


	4. Third Time's A Charm

**_Third Time's a Charm_**

**_The Fall of Hephaestus (2)_**

* * *

"I'm... Sorry." I was collapsed, on the top of a shattered wall, its gate and cannons gone. "I'm so... Sorry." It was all I could repeat, the epitome of such an utter failure. How had I missed? How had it simply... Disappeared? It was there, and then it wasn't. I couldn't understand.

"Don't you dare!" Ruby's hand connected with the side of my cheek. The sting was more realistic than anything else at that point. The only thing that had not been fabricated. "We couldn't even move, and you were on that thing! What were you thinking! It could have seriously fucked you-"

"Guys!" Belle pointed towards the outside, her knees locking in place. We all turned, the air stilling in Seven pairs of lungs. Titans. Tons of Titans. They were heading over the fields, through the wall. I swallowed, looked towards Emma. She was frozen solid, stiff as ice in the middle of winter. I swallowed my own fear, blinking away the tears.

"Belle! Give me a plan! There's seven of us! The message has to get back to headquarters, the Titans are coming through!" I grabbed Ruby's shoulder, roughly. "We are the top of the class! We can still fight! We can give them the time they need to evacuate the surrounding civilians! _Belle, I need a fucking plan! Do your God- damned job!"_She turned, ever so slowly. She blinked, leaving her eyes closed. When she opened them, she was already trying to swallow the fear so clearly evident in all of us.

"We... Split... Into... Groups. August, Neal, get to headquarters." The girl swallowed, her voice thick. "Ruby, you're the powerhouse. Emma, you too. You two drop second. Grant, we distract them." She pulled her blades. "You go left, I'll go right. Ruby behind me, Emma behind Grant." She nodded towards me, as I shifted my weight to ready for takeoff. "Your job is hardest. Lead, right down the center. Circle back and kill the one or two following you." She nodded, saluting with blades in hand. The other six of us mirrored it, and Emma found her voice.

"Go! Move out, Squad 108- R! None of you die on me!" We screamed, a mass of seven voices formed into one. The moment my boots hit the rooftop, and I was staring at the opening of the wall, a massive hole where it was once solid, I could feel my heart slow. We would win this. We had to. Belle was slightly to my right, her face set in a solid grimace. She was absolutely terrified. Grant looked about as ready as he could, Emma and Ruby attached to the wall by their maneuver gear. We would hold out until reinforcements came. We would have to.

The first Titan through the wall was huge. I could feel the others tense, their fear enveloping them once again. My right hand tightened, and the hook shot out, shoes so close to the stone ground that it seemed as though I was running, rather than flying. And then I was in the air again, twisting around in a perfect arc as the Titan swung towards me, slower than he should have been. Slow. Slow...

My blades tore through the neck, and he fell. Empty, no conscious. They weren't people, only beasts. We were in a fight for our lives; kill, or be killed.

Belle shot past me, pulling a set of two in a wide arc as a brunette demon sped through the air. I turned to the left and Emma was already dropping one. I pulled the triggers I had grown accustomed to, flying upwards, and then falling, sliding across the ground on a Titan as he died immediately due to a set of precise movements we had been drilled in far too many times. There were no words here, only actions. Belle shot past me again, and I followed her, closing in on one that was too near the technical beauty, dropping it in the exact moment she doubled back, pulling a group from Grant. I followed.

"Belle! We need a new plan! Get up and take a look, I can pull your place for now!" She nodded, flying up onto the highest building nearby. There were so many. So many beasts, those who were normal, those running towards us, jumping around, going past. I focused on one, crying out. "Grant, _move! Aberrant!"_Ruby and I were closing in, but it wasn't going to make a difference. He was moving too slow. The maneuver gear sputtered, before the aberrant's jaws closed in that defining crack around his torso, disembodied head and shoulders falling to the ground in a heap. The thing started to turn, and it was Emma that cut through the neck, cursing for all she was worth.

"We have to pull back!" Belle, from behind us. "There are way too many! Without Grant, we can't separate them, and we're nearly surrounded! If the five of us cut a singular path, then we should be able to make it at least far enough to restock in gas and climb the wall!" Emma was shaking, as she neared us, our backs to one another. We were terrified. Every single one of us. Then, an answer clicked.

"So, how many did you guys kill?"

"_What?! _Regina, this is completely irrelevant and-!"

"I killed eight. How many did you all get? Not as good as that, hm?" Belle froze, as Ruby grinned.

"I got four, and I know Belle got two! You won't stay over us for long though, Regina! I can guarantee that!" The brunette winked, touching her forearm to mine briefly. "What about you, miss valedictorian? Top of the class didn't get that many, did she, I'd bet!"

"Let's make a contest of it, though only kills to get to the East count. That seems fair, doesn't it." I growled, low in my throat. Belle's terrified expression turned to another determined grimace.

"I will do better than you." Emma growled, and she was off like a shot. My maneuver gear sang its hissing melody, lifting me up into the sky with an unnatural violence, whipping around the corners. As I watched, as I tore my gaze from the immediate path, all I could see was death. Death of civilians, death of other trainees. Death of soldiers. It was disgusting. And it was all the Titan's fault. I heard the upsetting growl of a near empty tank, glancing down at mine, before back to the two behind me.

"_Ruby_!" Belle. I shot downward, kicking the brunette out of the way as another aberrant came charging towards us. They were supposed to be rare, although two out of the many that were here already, and still filing through the gates? I suppose that was rare enough. My tank shuddered, at that exact same moment that Ruby snatched Belle from the rooftop. I swallowed, readying my blades. This fight would have to be short.

"Regina!" Emma. They had just noticed. Without maneuver gear, our fight against the Titans was hopeless. A human versus a giant was a losing battle.

"_Don't you dare turn around!"_" I shouted, my voice rising in pitch. The thing noticed me then, picking up its stupid run, with its stupid grin painted across its face. I stilled, waiting. When he lowered his hand, I could jump. I would have to be fast. "Survive! Make a difference in this war!"

"_Regina!"_

I grimaced, running forward as the thing reached for me, when it froze. Blood sprayed in every direction, a massive chunk of his skin falling away to the ground before the arm was broken away from the rest of the body. I felt my shock encompass me, overtake my basic abilities, even that one which to breathe. Hair touched my face, skimming across as she dodged, landing on the slanted roof with a surreal grace, unrivaled by others. Her heel cut a rift in the shingles we had been standing on, blades latching into the surface to stop her before the edge of the roof.

"Words of a dying woman." She stated, sheathing her right hand blade before running it through her hair. "I expect to never hear them again from you. Is that clear?" I had no voice. No words. And so I did the only thing I could at that moment.

I saluted.


	5. Questions, Not Answers

**_Questions, Not Answers_**

**_The Fall of Hephaestus (3)_**

* * *

My team was sitting up on the clock tower, their expressions those of pure shock. She offered her hand, and I slid mine into the cool palm. She was intensely beautiful. Her face was sharp, features angular, hair pulled back in a dark red, pin- straight tail. But she looked... Different. Far different than the other times I had seen her.

"Out of gas." It wasn't a question, and I nodded. "One of them will carry you. I'll clear the path." She yanked on my arm, crushing us so tightly together it didn't seem real, solid, lean body against my own. I had closed an arm around her neck out of reflex, glancing down at a ground that was much too far away too quickly. Her hand slid beneath my elbow, and a reaction queued somewhere in my subconscious. I had felt this before. It had been far too long ago, and I had never even noticed it then. But I knew now. She swung, throwing my entire body as though it weighed nothing. I let my eyes close slightly, curled in around myself with one leg, spinning. The rooftop was hard, my own heel cutting into the shingles there. I copied a motion I had seen only one time before, drawing a blade and slamming it down into the ground. She smirked.

"So you've finally figured out how to pick yourself up when you're thrown." She snapped her right handed blade out, drawing it straight from the sheath. Unlike the other soldiers, she didn't spin them, instead her ring and and little fingers resting on the triggers for her maneuver gear. "Two of you carry the ones without gas. I'll keep the Titans off of you."

"But Commander Kensington, you couldn't possibly fight them all yourself, you're barely older than we-" Her eyes flashed, even as Emma failed to finish her statement.

"You're Snow's brat, aren't you." She flashed a blade towards the blonde's throat, stopping only a hair short. "I've heard fantastic things about you from your parents, within Wall Athena. You joined for the Military Police, if I'm correct. Not a bad place to be, if you ask my opinion." She withdrew her blade, bringing it back to rest at her side. "However, I hold no stock in the coddling of soldiers who should be fighting the masses." Emma's face had frozen, she was shaking with the cold fury so clearly evident in this woman's voice. I would have been terrified as well. Emma looked down though, her eyes scrunching tight as she looked away from the fiercest of deity's standing just beside us.

"You're wrong." Emma's voice was shaking. She was absolutely terrified.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're wrong!" Emma's fist connected just below her heart, in the common salute we had been taught. "I am here to fight for mankind! I am here for the survey corps!" The red- head drew the slightest bit taller, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards into a smirk.

"Alright then, kid. Prove it." Her knee bent, snapping backwards as she flipped, the maneuver gear spitting as it kicked into a higher gear. "Prove to me, you're worthy of my faction!" I grabbed onto Emma's back, locking my wrists across her chest as she took off. Belle looked far the same, attached around Ruby's neck. I tightened one arm around the other, watching as the red- head's maneuver gear switched, changing, and she spun, blades forced into a typhoon of deadly accuracy, running up the outstretched arm of a Titan, breaking only at the shoulder as she switched direction, slashing with a single accurate strike. The back of a neck ripped away from the rest of a skeleton. The crash was echoed by a second as she flashed to the side. The Titan's head flew away from it's shoulders, blade driven down a second time, slashing into the singular weak point of a Titan's body.

"No... No way." Emma whispered, her gear lurching the two of us roughly to the side. "It's impossible to be that fast." I shook my head, watching as the woman seemed to float on nothing, breaking through another Titan as though he was made of water. "To behead a Titan in a single slice... Impossible." Emma swallowed, latching onto one of the towers as we swung outward in a wide arc. Ruby flashed out to the right, higher up in the air, and yet rapidly approaching descent. We were so close to the headquarters, where we could finally restock, finally prove ourselves. The commander... I swallowed. She had not been a commander the last I had seen of her. She had only been a squad leader, maybe a captain. That was only two years ago, and she had improved immensely.

"Stop! What are you doing!" I recognized the cold voice from somewhere in that blur of a battlefield two years ago. She ripped through a Titan, shooting forward with an unnatural arch, hooking into a turn she had been unprepared for. "_Idiot!" _

"_Ruby_!" The smartest student screeched, even as she was thrown roughly through the window of the headquarters.

"No!" Emma growled, echoed by my own, just as loud cry of something resembling rage.

"_Idiot girl_!" The woman shot to the side, an audible crack sounding as her leg scraped the edge of a rooftop. A Titan's jaw snapped shut, olive- skinned arm flying towards us, missing Emma and myself by the width of a blade, blood spraying across both of our faces.

"_Ruby!"_ Belle's screech again, echoing from where she was at the window of the building. "_Don't leave me!"_ Love. I recognized the emotion in that very moment, as Belle stepped up on the ledge. "_I'll follow you!"_

"Also an idiot girl." The commander growled, throwing her shoulder directly into Belle's sternum, forcing her back into the building. Emma kicked forward, shattering an extra window as I was tossed to the ground, sliding on the tile floors.

"Let me follow her!" Belle screamed, swinging a fist at the red- head's face. "Let me go with her! _Let me die with her!"_

"Fool." The red head whispered, tightening her arms around the brunette, wrapping her in a tight hug. "That is not how this world works." Dark green eyes glowed with a certain passion, and a sadness I had never seen her bear before. But perhaps that was simply since I had only ever seen her twice before this time, unless you counted our staring match during training.

"I... I love-"

"Shhh. Silence." I found myself biting down on my own tongue at her words. "If you love her, then you stand, you continue to fight. The Titans are capable of devouring everything we hold dear, unless we do just that; stand, and fight. We continue to fight, and then fight more. That is the goal of the Survey Corps. To survive." Belle shut her eyes, tears streaming down pale cheeks.

"She... wanted to join the Survey Corps. We... All did. Because..." She was shaking, as the commander drew far enough away to stare at her. "Regina... Made us want to fight. Because hiding, giving up to die... Is something only animals do!" The commander leaned forward, touching Belle's forehead as she stiffened. "I had forgotten myself a moment there, forgive me... Commander."

"There is nothing to forgive, until the moment where any of you give up your will and become the sheep you were taught to be." She drew back, withdrawing a piece of technology from her belt. "High commander Alice Kensington, calling in for Major Maleficent Dragan. I'm going to need some help."

"_How can I be of service, kid?"_ The voice crackled over a the speaker, older, more mature than even this woman's.

"I'm going to need a double injection, as soon as possible. Repeat of Trost, History section Jaeger, 6. Forced into change." She turned, glaring daggers at me, though it didn't seem as much of a threat. "Someone has too much will. She seems to have... Inspired me." The voice of the speaker laughed, before Alice handed it over to Belle. "If she replies back, shout for me. Refill your tanks. Hurry."

"What about you?" I questioned, barely even a breath against the wind. She smirked, standing on the sill of the broken window.

"Hey, kid! Your name was Ruby, right?" The Titan turned towards her, its massive, stupid grin painted across its frozen face. "Let me explain to you something, you idiotic youth! You do not simply leave my troops, you do not simply leave the people you love, do you understand me?! You do not give yourself up as a sacrifice, for that is nothing other than succumbing to your own cowardly desires!" She drew her double blades, cocking an arm so that the tip was pointed towards the Titan approaching slowly. "These beasts devour tons of people, each and every one of them cowards! So answer me, Ruby! _Are you a fucking coward too?!"_

The Titan froze, the smile on its face breaking, becoming an expressionless mass as it twisted. There was a moment, where its hand withdrew, my gas hooked securely back onto the maneuver gear at my side as I took a single step towards her. The Titan's scream echoed, the sound of ripping flesh flooding the surrounding area. Alice smirked, tightening her fingers on the maneuver gear triggers.

"Good girl. You didn't let me down." She jumped, the maneuver gear pulling tight as it latched towards a swinging hand. Belle froze at the window, staring. We were all staring.

The Titan was massive, made of bone much like armor. She was slumped over on the building, supporting herself, even as she swung a bone-like arm towards the flying commander. But there was something different about the Titan, familiar. She had dark, curly hair falling to her shoulders in thick waves, a distinctive face.

"Come on, kid! Show my what you've got! Show me why I want you in the survey corps!" Alice shouted, twisting around a tighter turn, one of her joints crackling as she touched down briefly on the rooftop. The Titan roared, screaming in a sense of vain, voice rising with a sort of anger. "You know, kid, I could always just kill _Belle_ instead of you." The Titan rose, swinging both arms to the rooftop, shattering it in a spray of shingles. "That's a girl! Give me a good run, hey?" Her maneuver gear shot again as the Titan shot closer, rising to a height of seventeen meters. Alice swung around, spiraling as another joint crackled on her landing. She shot off almost immediately, hooking to the palm of the Titan as it reached for her, dodging be only the slightest bit.

"Right!" Alice dodged left, her blades circling her body as she sliced up the muscles of the arm. Another set of blades swirled, crossing from the other arm to the shoulder. They crossed paths, hooking down, hooking into the hip of the Titan, blades slicing through the joint at the back of the knee, and then at the ankles.

"Back!" Alice shouted, crossing paths with the newcomer as her boots connected with the face of the Titan, grasping onto her hair with one hand.

"What's so special about her, kid?"

"Can't I fucking tell you later!" Alice shouted, answered only by a laugh, the blonde leaning her forehead against the Titan's face.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm glad I got to meet you, miss. Not that I know your name yet or anything." Alice spiraled downward, her blades cutting into the nape of the Titan's neck, and she kicked back. Steam forced its way out of the body, and all any of us could make out was another slice, and then another, and another. "Oh, Seems you're done now. I look forward to meeting you!" The blonde jumped back, her maneuver gear hooking backwards into the tower as the Titan dropped down to the ground, its jaw slack, limbs broken. A second set of boots connected with the surface of the wall as Alice hooked in, swinging herself into the building. "Hey kid."

"Just hurry up." The blonde shook her head, withdrawing a syringe from one of the packs attached to her belt. Alice was placing the crumpled form of a human down onto the floor, her brunette curls fanning out in a steaming mass. "I want to know where and when she was injected previously. She's going to have a lot to answer for when she wakes up. Though I suppose... Injection was lucky for her, considering the alternative."

"Ruby." Belle whispered, clutching at her cloak as though holding herself together.

"I can only imagine, kid. We've got too many questions, and not enough answers." She pressed the tip of the needle into the brunette's arm, pressing down slowly on the trigger. The liquid was clear, causing Ruby to only twitch once before she seemed almost asleep. "Here, you can do your own." She withdrew a second syringe, offering it to Alice, trigger side first. She slipped down into a sitting position, stretching out her left leg and slicing a pocket into the tight pants. She looked up at me briefly, before back down to the warped, misshapen joint.

"Painkillers." She whispered. I grimaced, but didn't look away as she slid the needle into the back of her knee, injecting slowly enough that it seemed like she was counting. "Does everyone have enough gas to get up the wall?" I nodded, and I'm certain both Belle and Emma did as well. "Fantastic. Let's get out of this Hell- hole then. The retreat bells rang far too long ago." The elder woman lifted Ruby over her shoulder, hooking an arm around her knees.

"I've got this one. You point, kid. I'll sweep." Alice nodded, taking her stance on the edge of the window again, followed closely by Emma and I, only a little slower by Belle, who kept staring at the passed out trainee. Maleficent winked. "She'll be fine. I have a serum back at the base that can destroy the Titan blood within her, if she so chooses. Don't fret." Belle nodded, still clutching at her cloak, before she withdrew her third- dimensional gear triggers. I swallowed, looking towards the Wall Athena. The entire population would be forced into such a small area. There was not enough food. Not enough resources. Too many people, and far too much carnage. Alice took off, her gear whirring as she arced around another building. We would have to figure something out, we would have to. That was the job of the survey corps.


	6. Home

**_Home_**

**_Let the Real Fight Begin (1)_**

* * *

When the entire graduating class stood together, it was for one sole purpose. They were standing here, on this day, as graduates of the military training academy. And now? They each had to choose what branch to join. The past days had been hectic, I could barely even remember them. All I knew for certain was where I was going to join, where my soul would go on this day. Belle was standing close to my left, and beside her was Ruby. On my other side, The two boys; Neal Cassidy and August Booth. Emma was just beyond them, and Ruby behind our group. She had technically already been admitted into the survey corps, but she still had chosen to stand beside all of us. Alice stood at the top of a raised platform, her eyes still as cold as ice, her face a hard mask. She was frozen there, isolated on the singular stage.

"There is no words to express the emotions of this day, only a question I can ask of you all, as recruits." Her voice was cold, very quiet, unfeeling. "Can you die, when I order you to?" The crowd drew back, bitten by the harsh reality of her words. I felt Belle flinch, just to my left. We had all come so close to death already. The Titans were terrifying, and if I was to never see another... It would be too soon. "More than sixty- five percent of my troops are slaughtered. Devoured, by the Titans. My brothers, and my sisters, crushed within the jaws of a being far more powerful than you. My bodies do not make it back to this city. They are left there, to rot in the forests beyond the city walls, as human sacrifice to a being we do not understand, and do not learn anything about consistently." She paused, her eyes roaming out over the crowd. "I am high commander of the Survey Corps, Alice Kensington. Those of you who are willing to sacrifice their hearts for humanity, stay here. Join the Survey Corps. And when I order you to, prepare to die."

The shock over the troops was intense. They were shaking, frightened. People turned, one by one, and then in groups. They left. Walked away. I saw August leave, out of the corner of my eye. He turned and stepped away. For how long the crowds moved, I'm not sure. My gaze rested upon her. Upon the leader that we were giving our lives to. She asked again.

"Can you die when I order you to?"

"We only die when we refuse to fight!" The voice was my own, but I failed to recognize it. She smirked, making the right handed salute against herself.

"Surrender your heart!" The cry echoed, despite their being so few of us. I glanced away from her, for the briefest moment, to see Emma still standing there, her fist against her heart. She looked absolutely terrified, and Belle looked equally as grim. But we were together. A team, against the world. The blonde woman from the battlefield stepped out, holding a set of green cloth.

"We have enough to cloth the recruits." Alice nodded once, holding up her hands. The recruits were still, frightened beyond the ability to move. I steeled myself, and took the few steps forward, face hard. We all needed masks, ones that we had yet to form as of this moment. I slipped the cloak from Maleficent's hands, flinging it around my shoulders. A cool hand stopped the clasp, tightening it the slightest bit. We were staring at one another, the commander, no, Alice. Alice, dropped onto one knee so that we were just about eye level. The others were surging forward to receive their own uniforms. The sound of their footsteps, and their determination so loud, I nearly lost her words.

"How does it feel to bear your wings." I blinked briefly, searching for the right words. It was a strange way, that I felt, something I had long since thought I lost. She cocked an eyebrow, waiting on an answer, and our gazes locked.

"As though I've come home." Alice's smile widened, the first full smile I had ever seen her show. All this time, I had thought I was joining the survey corps for myself, to fight the Titans and to eradicate such a major threat to humanity. And now, I wasn't as solidly founded in such a belief. Now, it was as though I spent so long fighting, just to come home. There had been Titans, beasts, night- terrors and funerals, but I had finally done it. It was all true.

I was home.


	7. I'm Seeing Things

**_I'm Seeing Things_**

**_Let the Real Fight Begin (2)_**

* * *

The bell was tolling, once more. I looked out of the stall I was in, patting my chestnut horse with one hand as I closed the door, taking off immediately for the main hall where the Survey Corps went to meet. I slid to a stop in the corner, close to Ruby. She smiled weakly, shrugging as I made a questioning face. Alice was sitting on the edge of the podium, swinging one leg over the side. It was a sort of signal that we were still waiting, hadn't started the meeting yet. Maleficent was making her way through the crowd, Belle at her side. As soon as we had joined the Survey Corps, training had started immediately. We had been assigned horses, had studied and ridden a long- range evasive pattern for use outside the walls. It wasn't difficult, just a lot of memorization. We were taught to fight in squads, teams of five or less. Belle had gone directly to the research squad in the division, under Major Maleficent Dragan. She fit in well there. Emma was under Major Fa Mulan, a heavy fighting squad. It was good for her as well. I had yet to be placed, but I had this nagging suspicion that I would be close to the front line. Ruby had also not been placed, and so we usually practiced together. She wouldn't ever say much about what was happening to her since she had turned into the Titan form of herself. Yet she hadn't seemed to change, and never had a mark on her, so I had let the matter drop. When Ruby decided she wished to speak about it, then we could talk. I was not going to rush her. Maleficent offered her hand to Alice, who stood with as little a limp as she could. The chatter in the squad died immediately as she saluted, her silence echoed by every fist in the clearing resting against a heart.

"I have called everyone here today to announce the movements of the Survey Corps." She seemed to be slightly worried, though I couldn't possibly place as a result of what. "As you all may have begun to notice, the food shortage due to the loss of both Wall Hephaestus and Wall Ares has increased the death toll within the city. This battle will not be easy, and it has approached far too soon." She looked out over the survey corps, a far smaller division than that of the Garrison. "We are the elite forces in the military, every one of us. Along with High Commander Killian Jones, it has come to my attention that if we do not retake Wall Hephaestus, the city will lose over seventy percent of its population, military included." There was a near- silent whisper through the crowd. "As the superior officers for the Survey Corps, Major Dragan, Major Fa and I have devised a plan to go further than the Garrison is planning. We may be soldiers, and so it is our job to take to the battlefield for Wall Hephaestus, however we are not just soldiers." She tightened the hand on her heart, reflexively. "We are the Survey Corps! It is our goal, and our duty to to break beyond the walls, and into the Titan's territory, in order to find any amount of crucial information possible!" She broke, as there was a massive cry rising from the throats of the division. "I will be meeting with Commander Jones on the eve of tomorrow, in order to form a final plan with him. That will be when I call you all again tomorrow, at roughly five pm." There was a resound 'yes' that echoed through the ranks. She nodded once, the most I have honestly ever seen her nod, before dropping her hand to her side. "My squadron will stay, as will those hand- picked by Major Dragan. The rest of you are dismissed. Thank you all, for your consideration." I stared at her for a few moments longer, in the bustling and shifting of the crowd, when I saw her raise a hand, curling her fingers inward. I swallowed, hard. I touched Ruby with my elbow, a light tap.

"Did you see that? What Commander Kensington just did?" The brunette smirked, shoving me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Regina. Maybe it was meant for you." I rolled my eyes, turning my gaze back to the red- haired woman, who shook her head with a slight smirk.

"I'm pretty sure it was, actually." Ruby tilted her head to the side, shaking out her thick curls.

"Don't get your hopes up, she's cold as ice, that one." The woman whispered, watching as the last few stragglers made their way out the door. "Can't imagine her ever being friendly, not in the typical sense of the word."

"Nor can I." I swallowed the feelings rising in the back of my throat, following the main squad as they made their way into the back. The council room was small, in retrospect, with a larger, round table situated with a bit of room to spare around the edges. Chairs were set up in a strange formation, covering three points of the table. Alice took one of them, Maleficent standing beside the other with Belle nearby her side. In the third section, Fa Mulan was standing still, leaning against the table as she laid out a map of the three walls. Alice's squadron, the fastest of the fighters in the Survey corps, surrounded her quietly, each of them standing.

"Mulan, what are you thinking." The Asian woman nodded, pulling her hair over one shoulder as she leaned over the map. "Give me a proposal for that little bitch over in garrison."

"I think the major point you would have to get across to Hook would be having four major teams interspersed within his." She pointed to the back edge, nodding towards Maleficent. "Healing and support management. Getting supply trains in and out quickly and efficiently, covering the bases for any problems that could arise, and usually do." Alice leaned on one arm, nodding her head.

"That's per usual, mine in the front, taking the heavy edge, also as per usual." Mulan nodded in agreement, touching the section that Alice was speaking about. "The other two."

"I propose wings, for this particular mission. We are not the main force in this attack, only the support. We have a second battle to fight, immediately after, and without the garrison troops." She spread her hands out over the map, pointing to two distinct areas. "I propose to send my main squad, with Miss Lucas, to pair off with Aurora. I can take the newer ones to the left, where the Titans are a bit lighter." Alice tapped her chin, analyzing the empty map.

"I disagree. Not with the wings." She tapped the left edge. "Have Miss Lucas take this edge, with two from your team, not the entirety. I don't trust Hook, and I would like you to have a heavier influence in the western edge where you will be."

"You would have Ruby go out with only one or two of ours, and the Garrison?"

"I trust Aurora, even if I don't trust Hook." Mark it, throw it past her tonight, if you would. Maleficent?" The blonde shook her head.

"I'm good with that. Trainees and supply trains are something I can handle in my sleep. I prefer to be behind the line anyway." She smirked, smacking Belle on the shoulder. "I want this one ready to be running the main line, so it'll be good practice. I'm getting a little old for this, after all."

"And your thoughts on Miss Lucas running her own squadron?"

"I agree with the idea of Miss Lucas being entrusted with a squad, but I would hold off for this particular round." She rested her other hand slightly forward on the map. "With Aurora here, I would place Miss Swan in charge, if just for a trial run. With the Garrison close by, it leaves us the opportunity to see if she is more fitting for the idea of squad work than her parents were. As for Miss Lucas herself," Maleficent tapped the spot marking Aurora's position once again. "I would place her with the Garrison, here. I want to know how she does in a squad more built for a closing run. She is far faster than expected, though requires a solid team. And likewise, I trust Aurora far more than I do Jones. If you absolutely must, then I would put her in a squad with Hopper or Booth." Alice nodded, before she lifted a pen, scrawling a set of names across the list.

"Have Maleficent's advice taken into consideration, Mulan. Throw it past Aurora to see if she could evaluate Miss Lucas on this run, and then I will consider forming a squad for the outer excursion that she may call her own." She formed a second list, scribbling quickly. "I want you with a mix of new recruits and your own, and the same for Miss Swan. Give her a good run though, so I'll leave that particular split up to you. Maleficent in the back, My own in the front, just behind Hook. We can cover the center as needed."

"Of course, Commander. I will discuss the break with my squadron, and then I'll discuss the draft with Aurora when I get home this evening."

"Very well. Dismissed." Major Fa saluted, heading toward the door.

"Anything more from you, Maleficent?"

"Nah, kid, I'm done." She shrugged, before offering Belle the option to speak. The brunette shook her head, silent. She was still so terribly naive, though I had stayed silent throughout this entire exchange, and so I couldn't really say much on the matter.

"Very well, dismissed then." She saluted, followed by Belle's own salute, and headed for the door. I considered leaving with them, however the wooden panel was shut with a finality, and I was still routed to the spot. "Regina, if you would." I swallowed again, saluting as I approached the table. She held out a hand, one of the others placing a set of rolled plans before she laid them out onto the table. "Though on short notice, we feel it is in the best interests of the survey corps. We will be making an attempt to retake Wall Hephaestus by the end of the week, as you know." I tilted my head forward, in acceptance of her words as she paused for the briefest moment. "As I will be gone for the majority of the day tomorrow, Chester Shire will be mandating your training tomorrow, beginning at dawn." She tilted the parchment, offering it to me. "These are detailed drawings of the basic forms I would like you to have a basic understanding of before the end of the day tomorrow, along with a set of patterns I would like for you to have memorized and practiced before the end of the week. Any questions you have can be directed to Chess, or any of the others, including myself." I took the parchment, the scroll weightless in reality, and yet heavy in theory. "Do you have any questions for us now? The entirety of the squadron is here at the moment, any other time and you'll have to run around to find us."

"What is... All of this. What is it for?" Chester smirked, though none of the others made any visible change in their expressions. Alice tilted her head to the side, as though she was in deep thought.

"Consider it a test of your abilities, Miss Mills." She cocked an eyebrow once more. "You see, I know where I would _like _to place you, in the division, however, it seems every time you've fought the Titans, I have personally pulled your ass out of danger." She stretched her arm out along the table, leaning forward slightly. "And out there, beyond the walls, Miss Mills, it is Titan territory. And I prefer my troops not to die."


	8. The Five

**_The Five_**

**_Let the Real Fight Begin (3)_**

* * *

I was out there, when it was still dark. Believe me, the sky was beginning to lighten, but it was still considerably dark. I brushed over my horse, a larger chestnut gelding I had affectionately named Rocinante, drawing the all too- unhappy beast out into the training yard with me. I left him loose, with his tack on loosely, as simply another body as quiet company. I withdrew the guards of my blades, most of the weight found there, in the maneuver gear trigger. I shifted my weight forward onto the balls of my feet, glancing down to the parchment I had laid out along the ground, held down by a set of rocks. I shifted into the form written there, moving as quickly as I dared through the forms. A few of them were as close to easy as they could be, and then others...

My knee cracked into the ground, and I rolled, bracing myself against the ground in attempt to regain air into my lungs. Rocinante poked me with his nose, and I reached up to pat him lightly on the side of the face.

"You only fell because you were moving a bit slower than usual, with no balancing force." His voice distracted me, and I turned towards what appeared to be approaching footsteps.

"Chester-"

"Call me Chess, Miss Mills. Come on now, get on up." He offered his hand, which I grabbed onto, tightly, still clutching onto the guard.

"Regina." He smirked, withdrawing the guards.

"Regina. Now, as Alice would scream to us in battle, _try it again!"_ I grimaced, locking my elbows as we both darted forward, moving in a form that he almost seemed to fall into. "Faster, Regina! Move faster! Run, faster!" I darted off to the side, crossing paths with him as we both turned in towards an imaginary target. "Up!" I slid, arching back as he rose upwards, flipping backwards, dual guards striking down. I turned as if to face the imaginary thing, moving backwards as quickly as my legs would carry my body. "Call a form!"

"Six!" Immediate answer. He made no movement as though he heard, simply moving into position, changing route. I pushed off to the side, darting behind him as he paused, reaching out. I snapped back, whipped forward by the strength of his arm, hooked around the back of an invisible foe. I struck, landing with an imperfect grace, stumbling before regaining balance.

"Again!" I snapped back into form, moving as effortlessly as I could into another movement, one that mirrored or matched his own. Halfway through a movement, he changed course, and I snapped back. My knees braced to the side, and the initial snap of maneuver gear almost caught me by surprise. Almost. We were up in the air, moving in a defined pattern, executing an attack so based around one another it appeared seamless. "Faster!" His words seem to echo, and I moved, maneuver gear shooting out in the same moment as his own. We hooked onto a set of trees, arcing past one another effortlessly, when he withdrew his blades. "Don't fear your team!" He shouted, and I made no movement, bracing both legs into the tree for the briefest moment, blades locking into position. We said nothing to one another, moving based solely upon a learned precision. I arced around to the left, heading directly for the tall, dirty- blonde man, when his maneuver gear snapped back. I pulled on the trigger hard, hoping to catch him in the air.

They appeared out of nowhere, both of them, moving into a typhoon- like slash directly past the marker we had unanimously decided was our target. Chess arced upwards, the maneuver gear withdrawing from our branch at the same moment as we bent our knees, stopping our ascent before forming our bodies into bullets, shearing at the massive marker. Another one shot forward, her arm extended towards me, elbows locking as she threw me up into the air, Chess snapping his maneuver gear into her belt in a replication of the movement. She darted past, low, braced by the first two, moving their bodies upwards in a downward strike with lethal blades. I twisted, moving into an opening devised for us, slipping into a faster dash flicking my eyes towards the dirty blonde as a single warrior darted right above my head, her blades less than a breath away from my skin. I shifted, arcing into a deadly spin, a massive X carved into the marker.

Five sets of boots cut into the ground, causing a rut in the ground I had never thought possible. I tilted my guard downward, as though stabbing into the ground to stop my forward motion. Breathing hard, I didn't turn, waiting. There was no movement behind me, none that I could hear.

And then the rustle of fabric, a shift in movement. I turned, readying my blades as quickly as was possible. We were in a circular formation, facing one another. Or rather, they were facing me.

"She learns quickly." The girl was tiny, but I recognized her, usually working side- by- side with Chess as he trained the new recruits. She was the lecture professor, the one that taught formations. Mallymkun Dormus. "Good."

"Mally's proud of you, Regina. Even if she won't say so." I blinked at the woman that spoke, I recognized her, but her double was on the opposite side of the circle, standing beside me. "I'm Dee, Regina. Beside you is Dania."

"We're twins. Don't worry about getting our names wrong, Maleficent still does after all this time." She smiled, my own responding grin weak. The two of them had dark, short hair, however Dee had hers tied back in a bun.

"If you leave your hair different, I'll remember." The sisters laughed, releasing their blades back into the maneuver gear sockets.

"Alright, Mally, you promised you would bring food." Chess cried, his face falling as the blonde pursed her lips.

"No, I don't think I did. Not for you. For the kid, yes."

"_Mally!"_ She cracked a grin, pulling the trigger and appearing just beside him.

"Oh, honey, do you really think I would leave you without food for a day?" I looked at the man, my teacher, for the first real time that day. His hair was usually spiky, a dark, dirty blonde, almost brown, though now it was suck to his skin with sweat. He was pale, though not as extremely so as Alice, tall and lean, solidly built and muscular. His arms snapped around her back, locking her there.

"Sadly, I wouldn't put it past you." He had a mischievous smirk, echoed by the gorgeous blonde, who tossed her hair over one shoulder.

"Well, with the way the food distribution is now-"

"Mallymkun!" Dee shouted, the blonde capping her mouth hastily. I stopped, tilting my head to the side. None of them looked particularly malnourished, and I scanned over the images of everyone in the survey corps, quickly.

"How often does Alice... eat?" A dangerous question, I was sure. But also a realistic one. The five of them stopped laughing, and Mally turned within Chess' grip. They seemed to share some unspoken decision reached, before Mally whistled for her horse.

"We may as well tell her." Dania stated, the brown mare standing stock- still after she had appeared out of nowhere.

"I like this one, she doesn't seem like she'll die anytime soon. Learns quickly. A keeper." Dee recited, laying out a thin blanket that could easily fit the five of us. I offered my hands to Mally, in order to carry something, rewarded with a set of parcels that felt as though they had liquid within.

"I agree." Chess stated, setting out a large basket, patting the horse. "She uses you as a pack mule again, Twinkle, and you still come back to her."

"I like her better than you, Chester." The man grinned like a fool, placing a light kiss on the blonde's cheek.

"That's okay, I like her better than me too." Within a few moments, there was a small tray of sandwiches set out, bottles of water distributed equally. We were seated in a close knit circle, when Dania started speaking.

"As you know, Regina, the survey corps are planning their excursion beyond the walls at the end of the battle for Wall Hephaestus." I nodded, that had been explained in the meeting just the day before. It sounded simple enough.

"Originally, Alice, Maleficent, and Mulan had decreed it would be at the end of the month. It gave the new recruits a longer time to learn our ways and be given the optimum assignments depending on their separate and distinctive abilities." Chess had one arm around Mally, who was reclined against his chest. "You see, Alice values the life of her troops far more than a glorified rush into battle. She always has."

"Its how the majority of the survey corps has lasted this long." Dee added, tacking on her own reply to his speech.

"Thinks have changed now." Mally's voice, quiet compared to earlier. She had rested one hand on Chess's forearm, as if bracing it there. "The majority of the city's population can not be supported. The mortality rate due to starvation alone has reached the highest in the city's history." She shook her head. "The majority of the survey corps doesn't eat, not every day at least. The last meal we had was..."

"Three days." Dania stated, locking eyes with the blonde, who nodded.

"Priority goes to children in the city, the pregnant, and the military. We could all eat ever day, more than once." Chester stated, resting his chin against blonde hair. "However, when this agreement was reached, Alice called her majors into a private hall."

"So Maleficent and Mulan?" Mally nodded.

"Along with the three squads. We discussed the state of the city, the amount of food we were allotted versus that of the pedestrians. The seventeen of us voted on a proposal to return what we did not absolutely require back to the city's inhabitants." Mally's smile was sad, heartbroken.

"The vote was unanimous. We don't usually agree on anything, between the seventeen of us. It's usually Maleficent's team, head to head with Mulan's, which is fighting against our own. I've never seen the entire base of the survey corps agree so singularly on one proposal."

"We then decided that the recruits came before the highest rank." Dee continued. "They were to be shielded from the situation to the best of our ability. We would continue as we always had, fighting and training, being prepared for whatever situation came our way."

"That was when the Military Police put the idea to take back the city into the magistrate's head. He thought it was fantastic. They proposed to send fifty percent of the refugees out beyond Wall Athena in order to take back Hephaestus." I furrowed my brow at Dania's words. Refugees? Civilians not trained to fight? That was absolutely preposterous.

"Commander Kensington wouldn't allow it. She made the proposal to take back wall Hephaestus without so much as looking at her Majors. Not that a single one of the survey corps would disagree with such a plan." Chess continued on. "It was turned down. She was told her squad would take to the outermost wall, Ares. The problem isn't taking back the wall, but sealing and rebuilding the gates. We have a plan prepared for the gate at Wall Hephaestus, but not for Ares."

"The magistrate and the Military police are pushing us too far, and too soon. The amount of death we are bound to approach is going to be outstanding. We can't say no to the movement. All we can do is... Survive." Mally finished, shrugging her shoulders. "She doesn't want the recruits to know. The only ones told about it, have survived through the past two attacks on the city."

"So... why me?"

"We've heard some pretty good things about you, Regina. You've survived both attacks on the walls, even took down something like twelve Titans in the fall of Hephaestus." Dee stated, a smile lighting her face slightly.

"Our team has been missing someone for over two years. None of us could figure out who, exactly, Alice was waiting for." Chess leaned back on his arms, looking up at the sky. "And then out of the 108th, there you were. It was like a damn miracle to see Alice put her soul back into the fight. I never thought I would see it again, to be honest."

"I was told she had no idea where she wanted to place me, in the ranks. I thought-" The twins laughed, shaking their heads.

"She's known exactly where you're going to end up this whole damn time, Regina." Mally, with her ice- colored eyes glinting with mischief. I blushed, looking around at the squad around me. A squad of four of the fastest, most efficient, brutal fighters I had ever seen. I had to be as good as this squad. No. _My _squad.


	9. Almost

_**Almost**_

_**Let the Real Fight Begin (4)**_

* * *

I rested my weight back on one heel, jamming the edge of my blade into the ground. I had snapped one already, and had done nearly the same with this particular sword, saving it only by tucking it against my shoulder as I hit the ground, sliding rather than rolling. It was painful, and more importantly, it was frustrating. I couldn't number the amount of times I had tried this, anchored safely on the ground, and failed. Miserably. Always failing. I stood, centering my body as I drew another blade into the guard.

"Your balance is off." Her voice startled me, forced my form into a crouch as I twirled, one blade rising into the defensive position as the other prepared to attack. She was sitting there, pale as bone, blood- colored hair tied up in its usual high- ponytail, forest- colored gaze locked on my own.

"I've done it exactly the way its depicted. I want to master it on the ground before putting it in the air." She smirked, drawing her guards and snapping blades into place.

"Its not meant for the ground, dear." The red- haired captain shot upwards, one hook in the maneuver gear snapping into the nearest tree before she twisted, the second whipping her around in a tornado- like arc in the opposite direction she had appeared to be going. She shifted again, blades cutting through the downed tree that had clearly been used as practice many times, executing a perfect round off onto her toes before repeating the motion. Her blades landed directly where the lowest point of the deltoid muscle in a titan, swinging into something that resembled a tornado across where the weak point would be. I swallowed. When she fought, even against a slashed up, broken tree, it wasn't fighting, but more like a sort of fancy, ballroom dance. Far more than even awe- inspiring. She anchored on the maneuver gear, floating along the trees. "If you were having so much trouble with this form, why didn't you come to me for help?" Well, this was embarrassing.

"Chess and Mally are out spending the day together, Dania and Dee are running the final preparations for going beyond the wall, and what they can try to figure out as far as sealing Wall Ares." I shrugged. "I figured I could work it out on my own."

"I didn't ask about my squad." She landed, touching down lightly in the grass. "I asked why you did not come to _me." _Her voice softened slightly, and she looked away, as though living somewhere else. "Do I really scare you all that much, that you absolutely loathe coming to speak to me? Or is it just the age; the lack of respect. Or am I... Too distanced, I don't... Understand, why-"

"No!" She didn't move. Not at all. Didn't even bat an eyelash. Yet she stopped speaking. 'I can't speak for the others. I don't want to speak for the others, if I'm honest. Some of them are complete, blithering idiots. But for me, its nothing like that." I could remember her, every single time I had met her before joining the Survey Corps. It wasn't many times, and yet, each one was as vivid as though just the day before, as though I had only just met her a moment ago. "Every time I've been in your presence, Alice, you've been pulling me out of some shit situation I've gotten myself into. I want to redeem myself." She dropped her head, shaking it.

"There is nothing to redeem." She was smiling. The first smile I had ever seen on such a somber face. I remembered in that moment, just how young she was. Only two years older than I was. "I almost envy you, Regina." I cocked an eyebrow, taking a seat on a decent section of the torn- up tree.

"How so?" She opened her mouth as if to say something, before her eyes grew cold once more. Her blades slid out before I had even drawn a breath, in less time than it took to blink an eye. "Whomever is in my forest better show their face before I skin it from their skull." A growl, low, from the back of her throat. I suppose it would be accurate to say that it was useful to instill fear into people, and it did well. I was holding cocked blades, crouched on the battered branch in less than a moment. Something, a cold feeling, was making its way down my spine. Prickles, as though a warning. As though something was about to happen. Alice drew her right hand up to her lips, gear trigger held by her last two fingers, blade cocked back toward the same shoulder. "Regina. Things are about to get really, really bad." I was going to ask her what she meant. I had full intentions of doing so.

That, however, was the same moment that lightning crackled down from the sky. The ground shook, tilting with a violent pitch. We were up in the air, as though released from a slingshot. I fell into a pattern, not behind her, but beside her as we swung in a turn mirroring the other, snapping onto the nearest, tallest building in order to get higher, faster.

"Hook! Time to move, _now!" _I could see it, ugly as before, its bone- color teeth exposed to the air in sharp contrast to red, striated muscle.

The Colossal Titan.


	10. Right or Wrong

_**Right or Wrong**_

_**Before We Leave These Walls (1)**_

* * *

Warning bells were ringing through every bell tower of the city as we whipped upwards, pointed toes less than a hair away from the vertical beast of a wall named after the goddess of strategy and battle. This was who we were. I was shot upwards at the same moment that she was, pausing mid- air, floating, suspended above everything that was.

"Not Athena, you little bitch." Alice's blades shot forward, moving in a synchronized pattern to the rest of her body as she spun, lacerating the massive left shoulder of the beast. I followed suit, swallowing a very rational, very real fear, taking out the muscle of its opposing shoulder. The thing swung outward again, and I felt my gear jam against one of the clock towers, pulling the wrong direction far too quickly as the twin blades made a sort of shield. There was a crash as a massive finger fell into the nearby housing, and I touched down on the roof briefly. The next movement was a slam forward, almost in slow motion as a blonde crossed my path, the heels of her boots landing square on the Titan's face. I shifted into a downward spiral, ripping into the arm I had nearly been hit with. I slid across the rooftop again, using the tower as a sort of slingshot, crossing paths with Alice around the curve.

"We both go for the neck."

"What about-"

"She'll move." Less than a moment in conversation, lining up with that spot, cocking the blades to strike that singular, fatal blow. There was a breath, the drawing of oxygen into lungs as we crossed. The blonde jumped, curls flying forward as she broke her movement with the maneuver gear, locking onto the tower behind us. My maneuver gear flailed, withdrawing before snapping out into the wall, just in front of us, where a titan had been standing. Maleficent's gear snapped between the two of us, and I turned my head as she dove through the miniscule space between the red- head and I.

"_Menschliche."_A word clearly not in the English language, for I had never heard it before. Alice's stone mask cracked, and for the briefest flicker of a moment, she appeared frightened. But the blonde was nearly up over the wall, and we were grounded against it. The red head released her blades, looking behind her towards the empty, save for various Titans, city. It truly could be considered beautiful, I reflected. The layout was perfect for the use of third dimensional maneuver gear, with varying buildings creating a sort of platforms that could be used to never step foot upon the ground from wall to wall. There was a few moments of silence as we waited there, the two of us. Though we were alone, and much in the same state as earlier, there was no doubt in my mind that the situation had changed drastically. There had been something ominous in Maleficent's singular word, as though a confirmation of some out- of- this- world hypothesis had just been tested. I wanted to ask her, when the sound of soles meeting stone echoed with a sound that was almost terrifying.

"They're moving against Athena." Alice's voice, hard, cold. As though she was shutting down again, becoming a piece of the wall. "This is my squad, Killian."

"A decent squad for back up." His voice was heavily accented, haughty. "You stay behind us. We'll break through Hephaestus where Maleficent can set up that thing." His hair was short, a dark ebony, and he appeared slightly scruffy. One hand, his left, pointed forward, made solely of a shimmering, metal alloy. "Allow me to prove myself to you, Hysteria."

"Survey Corps! On my command, you each stay alive! The only death is one in which you give in to the enemy!"I turned around, glancing up the wall. They were all here. Soldiers, braced against the last wall, as far as the eye could see.

"Garrison!" His voice rose, snapping a blade into place. "Today, we take back Wall Hephaestus! Garrison, move forward!" A cry. I looked towards the far wall, and then back to Alice. She seemed intensely unsettled, again. As though something was going to go wrong. A hand snapped out, pulling me closer, tilting her head to the side.

"Stay close." I swallowed. Something was either very, very right, or very, very wrong.


	11. Change

**_Change_**

**_Before We Leave These Walls (2)_**

* * *

When I joined the Survey Corps, I never expected to be seated on the top of a clock tower, my Commander directly to my right, the rest of a team of six spaced evenly around the circle. Chess was to my left, Mally across from him, Dania and Dee across the circle from Alice and myself. There was the sound of battle around us, though not loud enough to be nearly as awfully as destructive as it had seemed, thrown right into the midst of it, my graduation day. Nothing was hectic, but planned. It was probably the strangest occurrence in my life, and one of the least deadly in all of my time in the Survey Corps.

"Alright, who brought the cards?" Dee held up a hand, deck of cards with wings of freedom emblazoned in the back. Chess grinned slightly, his goofy, crooked smile lighting up his features. "What should we play, Ladies?"

"Fifty- two pick- up, boys go first." The man's grin faded, and his jaw dropped at the commander's words.

"Commander~"

"Don't wine, just pay attention. My vote is on anything but hearts. It reminds me of that bitch in Military Police." Mally offered a hand, shuffling as though she had come from inside Wall Athena, where everything was all fun and games, gambling included. Perhaps she had, for all I knew. The past didn't matter when we were together, this was our family. Our home.

"Regina, you know how to play poker?" I nodded quickly at Dee's words. I hadn't had many chances to play, but I knew the basis of the game. "Good girl, you'll fit in well. What do we use for chips?" Alice cocked her head back, looking out over the fighters.

"I'll bet Titan's Hook will kill." The group laughed, shaking their heads. Even I couldn't keep a smirk from my lips.

"You know, he can't be that bad. He did graduate top of his year-"

"Second." Alice slammed her fist down, cracking a section of the rooftop. Nails dug into my arm, and I glanced down at the pale hand that had taken to resting there. "He was not as good as me, damn it!" Mally had paled, stopping midway through dealing the cards out in a circular manner.

"I forgot you were the same year as Killian, Commander." Her jaw shifted, and she handed her cards back to the blonde dealer, maneuver gear clicking into motion as she stood. "My apologies, I didn't mean to-"

"It's nothing. It's fine, Mally. I just... I have to check on him." She shot back, her red hair clouding over her face as she disappeared in a shallow arc around a separate tower. Mally sighed, finishing the round of cards. I tilted an eyebrow, glancing at Dee.

"Sorry I fucked up, guys." Mally stated, discarding a section of her hand. "She's so much younger than him, than the majority of us, present company excluded."

"What's the story, if I'm not risking death by asking." I breathed, glancing forward to where the front line had progressed, guarding a set of carts making a direct pathway towards the break in the wall. Dee folded her hand, shaking her head.

"Commander Kensington and Commander Jones didn't join the military academy the same year, but they graduated at the same time." Dee shook her head. "There aren't many that really know the truth of what happened, and the Commander doesn't talk about it much."

"Never, actually." Dania stated, laying out a pair of kings. "I've never once heard her say a word about what happened the day Hook lost his hand." I recalled the metal extremity. It had disappeared up beneath his jacket, and I hadn't thought very much of it.

"All we know is that she was there, when he lost his hand." Chess stated, ruffling his sand- colored hair as he folded. "It was the same day Milah Gold died." I tilted my head.

"The Lord of the city?" Mally nodded, before she shook her head.

"He was just a part of the Military Police then. Not fresh out of the trainees, but arrogant. Thought he was the toughest shit around. Except for Cora Heart of course." I gulped. My mother. Was it awful I had lacked any sort of thought concerning my mother up until this moment? Probably. However, giant, smiling, man- eating giants took priority. Along with the Commander of the Survey Corps, though I wasn't completely certain why she was more important than my mother. "Milah was his wife."

"Milah died, and Killian lost his hand. Maleficent, in the process of creating him a new one, first gave him a rather effective hook to use, hence the name." Dee stated. She looked out over the battle, a small form heading back towards us. "He was really good in the Survey Corps until he left for the Garrison. He had a falling out with Alice, that not a single person here knows anything about. All we know is they fought, he joined the Garrison, and she became Commander." The group shrugged, as a maneuver gear hook lodged into the building.

"We're required at the front. Hook has a bit of a situation." The group was silent, before she rolled her eyes. "Something about Maleficent's cart exploding on him if he touched it." There was a tense laugh, followed by the six of us heading forward.

The movement of the Garrison was truly exceptional to watch. They moved as a singular group, circling, drawing Titans away from the cart that held the answer to sealing the wall, cycling again to eradicate the Titans they had pulled. They repeated the pattern with a practiced ease, the occasional new recruit deviating, being smashed into a nearby rooftop. I swallowed. When had I become so heartless that I could watch a human, a child, being completely decimated by a monumentally stronger being, and pass it off as nothing but an average day? Why couldn't I answer such a question? The back of a hand trailed across mine, brought me back to reality as she landed, crouching against the hard pavement.

"Alright! My six, get the barrier set up! The Garrison will keep them off of us, as best they can!" The man nodded, swinging his hand in a wide arc as a small set of troops dispersed. I began the task of building the barrier, Dee to my right, Alice to my left. The mundane, though complicated, ordeal left a bit of time to think. Far too much time for such things. The more I found out about this woman, the more I found myself thinking back to that training session in the woods, and farther before that even. Back, into the very first meeting, seeing her descend upon the back of a titan that had eaten my father. I would feel my eyes start to blur, and then fingertips would dance across the back of my hand, drawing me back to the present, to the job at hand. A perfectly manufactured plan, only needing to be executed. However, no matter how joyous our celebration was as the steel barrier was fit into place, I couldn't help but know.

Everything was changing.


	12. Argument

**_Argument_**

**_Before We Leave These Walls (3)_**

* * *

No matter how joyful and jolly the after party was, I couldn't help but feel out of place. I spent a good amount of time with Ruby, the brunette been assigned her own squad, taking a break from conversation every now and then to go over strategy with a woman named Madeline Harehi, an average- looking, relatively fun member of her squad, a fair amount of experience under her gear. I could have found Emma, with the rest of Mulan's squad, though its leader nowhere to be found. Belle was at Ruby's side, her pride at the brunette's increase in rank clearly evident. But I couldn't find any of the commanding officers of the Survey Corps. All of those from the Garrison, or rather, all of those that I knew from the Garrison, could be found around somewhere. Not so much with Maleficent, nor with Alice. After some time excluded from the group, I decided it would just be easier to spend time with a friend. One with an unconditional amount of love for me, and me for him. Rocinante. I was halfway to the stables when I heard it.

"_Man kann nicht dein Ernst sein!"_ Alice's voice, one I would recognize anywhere, regardless of the strange words. She sounded enraged, far beyond that cold mask I had always seen well- placed across her features.

"_Ich habe noch nie falsch, wage es nicht mir dieser Mangel an Einsicht vorwerfen!"_ Maleficent, I was sure of it. The only one with enough experience to even consider arguing with the Commander. "_Das Titan ist menschlich, und es riecht nach Militar!"_ I gasped, covering my mouth quickly in order to cover the slip. A Titan, connected to the Military? Was that even possible? It would have been easier if I could understand them, yet not every fight is one on common ground, and eavesdropping is a sort of battle all its own. "_Cora hat einen Eindringling, trotz allem was Sie sagen!"_

"_Aber wer, verdammt noch mal! Wenn Sie es wagen zu sagen, Survey Corps, wahr mir Gott helfe-"_

"_Wenn Sie nicht so in eure Wege gesetzt, wurde ich vorwerfen Regina-" _Someone being slammed into the building rattling down to its supports at the very mention of my name.

"Don't you fucking dare. I don't give a fuck that you are my mother, I will slit your throat if you ever dare to tell me that _Regina _is the one destroying this city." A low, violent growl. I could feel heat spreading over my face at the very idea of her protectiveness.

"She's the spawn of them both." A form crumpling to the ground.

"She was with _me._ Not with them. I sat outside that fucking trainee cabin for two god- damned years to ensure the fact that it was _not_ her. Cora may have eaten the man she thought was her father, but don't you stand here and _dare _to tell me in _any _tongue that Regina is a fucking Titan." I ran. I needed Rocinante. I needed a friend, anyone. He snorted at me when I burst into the makeshift stall, lowering his nose against the back of my head. What had I just heard? What the fuck had I heard?

No one had ever heard Alice fight with Maleficent, it simply _was not done._ What had they even been discussing? Something about a Titan, and the military. My mother, and my father... not being my father? What was this, this absolute blasphemy? I thought the information about Hook had been a set of unanswered questions that were not so easily stomached, but this was a whole new level. I'm not sure when I had started crying, tears streaming down into my Survey Corps jacket.

A hand rested against my shoulder, knees sliding up beneath mine as arms circled around me. There was a soft kiss against the side of my head, as though everything was just fading away. All of the pain, the disbelief and the doubt, disappearing.

"_Leid._ I'm sorry. I did not mean for you to hear any of that." Her voice, for the first time, soft. With so much emotion. As though there was something within her, at war with herself.

"What was all of that? I don't understand, any of it! Who the Hell are you!" I pushed her back just a bit, but I couldn't let go either. We were just held there, locked together.

"The Titans fail to break through our walls for hundreds of years, and suddenly, there's one with the intelligence to do so? Regina, you're smarter than this. Think about it!" I blinked away the tears, tightening my grip on her jacket, inhaling. When I looked at everything, what she had just said, the difference between the Titan that had appeared before the wall and the other Titans, Maleficent's anger, it all seemed to fall into place.

"They're _human_."


	13. Apology

_**Apology**_

_**Before We Leave These Walls (4)**_

* * *

The realization was probably the largest shock in my life, up until this point. However much of an important key in this massive puzzle this was, it was not the largest of my concern. My grip had loosened against her forearms upon the realization that there were humans inside of titans, much like Ruby, and that those human- titans were trying to destroy the walls, and that grip tightened again.

"What else. There was more, Commander! I demand that you tell me why my name came up in that conversation."

"It's a long, painful story, are you sure you want to listen to it?" My eyes narrowed at the clear challenge. She was acting high and mighty once again, and it struck me for perhaps the first time that we were basically the same age. We were both from within these walls. We were the same.

"Don't you dare treat me like a child."

"I never have, have I." Alice slipped her hand through bone- crushing grip, running her fingertips through dark brunette hair. I tried to stay angry, to fuel the need for answers with an unadulterated anger. But there was a sense of affection in her words that was usually absent from her voice.

"No. You haven't." She stretched out slightly, joints crackling as she did so, leaning up against the board wall.

"Don't step on me, Rocinante."

"He shouldn't. I've fallen asleep in here before." Alice smirked, tilting her head back as she closed her eyes.

"There is a conspiracy theory, in the Survey Corps. Maleficent has been leading it for quite some time now." She rested an arm behind her head, the other stroking down across the veins of my hand. "She and a few others found out one year, through an excursion beyond the walls, that there were humans out there. Humans, people much like you and I, that survived out there, fighting for every day of their lives. There was a faction of them, however, that survived through one articular adaptation. They had formed a sort of... serum. It turned them into Titans under a set mental circumstance." She leaned back, closing her eyes as she seemed to recite from memory. "A goal, the most important thing in your entire life, brought into perspective in that one singular moment, and an injury. Any injury, whether it be fatal, or something as simple as a paper cut." Another pause, where she shifted, opening her arm as a sort of invitation. I resisted. I had to. "The original team of theorists had come to realize that there were people like this, slowly infiltrating the cities of humanity. So many cities fell, in such a short amount of time. They're smart, these people. Some of the most brilliant at hiding in plain sight. So the Survey Corps made it their mission to figure out who was like this in our particular city." I found myself captivated, not only by her voice, but by the slope of her neck, the steady rise and fall of her chest as she spoke volumes. "I lived with Maleficent, so it wasn't difficult to learn from her. She's absolutely brilliant, as I'm sure you've guessed. She started looking at the military off of a personal hunch, and what she found was tremendous." I shifted closer, pushing her hair over one shoulder and resting my head against the closer one. She exhaled deeply, closing both arms low around my waist. She smelled distinctly like forest, with the slightest dash of cinnamon. "She found enough evidence to suggest that it was a few select individuals in the Military Police that were carriers of this Titan blood, higher- ups, those who it would be stupid to confront, and were smart enough to conceal the true identity. One of the few she was watching became pregnant, retired from the military."

"My mother?"

"Yes." I took a deep breath, filled with that comforting scent of cinnamon, before she continued. "It's gotten worse. They've started attacking the city again. Maleficent and I are always in jeopardy of losing our jobs, being replaced by pawns. Hook is too, but he's a fantastic liar. There's been a leak from the Corps to the Garrison, and suddenly the Military Police is all up in our business."

"And Maleficent thought it was me. It makes sense, for me to be the one blamed, all things considered."

"I never thought so." I could feel heat rising up my neck, flushing. "It just doesn't make sense, anymore. Everything has become so twisted. I'm no longer certain we can trust Hook, Commander Jones, because of what happened in the training corporations." She shook her head, as if dismissing a painful memory. "And it pisses me off that there is someone in the Survey Corps that's leaking information through the system."

"You said something about... My father. Not Henry Senior." Alice sighed, tilted her head to the side.

"Are you sure you want to know?" I thought about it for a moment, before shaking my head.

"Regardless of the answer, I will always think of Henry as my father, so I suppose it doesn't really matter. So I guess I don't really want to know." We were silent for awhile, her fingers running through my hair in a slow, quiet pace. "How did you know it wasn't me."

"I just _knew_. I didn't need any sort of confirmation. If there's anything that my life has taught me, its to trust my gut."

"Am I in your squadron because of Maleficent's insecurities concerning my parents, or-"

"You're with me," She stated, her voice slowing, dropping as though someone other than Rocinante ran the risk of hearing us. "Because _I like you_." I leaned over, pressing my lips to her jaw in a way that my first boyfriend had.

"I like you too." She smirked, sliding down until I was braced above her in the hay.

"You know, there was awhile when I was hoping you wouldn't join the Military, and would stay safe within the walls." She ran her fingers through my hair, down the curve of my waist. "But the walls aren't safe, and..." I was leaning down, blushing lightly. "I wanted you here. I'm a selfish creature."

"Aren't we all, dear?" She laughed, and we kissed. Light at first, before her lips parted, tongue touched mine. I could taste her, my lip between her teeth as I felt my lungs tighten from lack of oxygen, that sassy smirk back in place across her features as I leaned against her forehead. "This is wrong, you know. You're the commander and-?"

"And?" She cocked an eyebrow, flipping my over in the hay, my back arching as a forearm braced against one hip, the other arm behind my head to keep us close. "This is war, Regina. We live our lives to the fullest, or we die with regrets." As her mouth landed against mine once again, I swallowed my words about how for the briefest moment, I had thought this was love, and not war. Perhaps it was simpler to think of them separate, and yet, both ideals were really just one in the same.


End file.
